


Obvious

by Patcho418



Series: Snow Days! (RWBY in Atlas!) [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Cuddling, F/F, Fluff, Hugs, Romantic Fluff, Shopping, Yang is nervous about being in her first openly affectionate relationship, everyone knows what's up, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 13:33:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17663612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patcho418/pseuds/Patcho418
Summary: Atlas sure is cold, and Blake is going to need a new coat.The gang goes shopping, and Yang gets nervous about her overt feelings for Blake.





	Obvious

**Author's Note:**

> If there's interest, I might try and do some short little bits of what the others are all doing at the shop because shopping montages are my FAVOURITE

Blake cursed Atlas’ frigid winds as they assaulted her bare arms, unrelenting and angry, almost a harsh warning to the Faunus to stay away. Of course, she resented being in Atlas almost as much as the rest of their group, though certainly not as much as Weiss, but nonetheless they each knew how important their mission was.

Get the Relic to Atlas. That phrase—that order—had been drilled into everyone’s minds since leaving Haven. This call to action, this next step in their grand crusade, this staunch reminder of the danger at their heels, and what dangers may lie ahead of them.

“You kids stay here,” grumbled Qrow as he pushed past the group, lamp in hand. Blake’s brow furrowed as the older Huntsman made his way down the ramp of the hangar and into the blustery whiteness that awaited them. 

“Where are you going?” Ruby inquired, her tone regaining some of the bite she’d displayed when Qrow had been at his worst.

He stopped momentarily and glanced over his shoulder; Blake barely noticed him relinquish a sigh before facing them. “We got the Relic this far. Now I’ve gotta find Ironwood to fill him in before we can figure out what to do with…this.” At that, he tapped the glowing lantern dangling from his hip.

This time, Yang stepped forward beside Blake. “Couldn’t we all go together? It’s not like we don’t know everything already.”

“True,” Qrow began thoughtfully, “but it’d be weird for a bunch of kids and two old fogeys to be wandering around the academy looking for the general to have a chat with him. Look, you kids may know more than most, but we still have to be discreet.”

Blake nodded; though she begrudged to admit it, he had a point. Being in Atlas was no doubt going to draw attention, especially with a Faunus and a Schnee amongst the group, and despite what they knew it still wasn’t common knowledge. Word could spread fast should anyone find out anything about their mission, and that chance would only grow exponentially the larger their group was.

Once more, Yang piped up. “Well then what are we supposed to do?”

Qrow paused, looking among them with a thoughtful glare. Then, his lips parted into an uncharacteristically warm smile. “If this is your first time in Atlas, I’m not gonna lie: there’s some pretty bad stuff going on around here. But that’s not to say the tourism isn’t great.” Then, with a wink: “Plus it looks like your _friend_ could use a new coat. Something with insulation, too.” With that, the Huntsman turned from them, lifted his cape slightly over the relic on his hip, and continued down the ramp.

Blake had almost forgotten how cold she was, but at the mention of a jacket she felt the shivering resume. As if on instinct, Yang put her arms around Blake’s shoulders, clearly being careful not to connect bare skin with frozen metal. She felt the blonde begin to rub gently, and a semblance of warmth returned to her body.

Perhaps she leaned too obviously into Yang’s touch, as Weiss stepped up quickly to face the group. “I agree with Qrow!” She paused, pursed her lips, and grimaced. “That felt weird to say. Nonetheless, I can show you some of the less…upscale boutiques where we could probably pick up some mitts and scarves for everyone.”

“What’s wrong with upscale?” Nora inquired, her voice laced with false suspicion.

Weiss’ response, however, held no such levity. “We don’t want to go there.” Blake nodded sensitively; in this case, _we_ might as well have been _I_. “Plus, the smaller businesses tend to have nicer stuff.”

The group murmured among themselves, seemingly in agreement. Blake knew quite well that a lot of these ‘smaller businesses’ were often Faunus-friendly as well. Many of the independent brands and local sellers rarely fared well in Atlas’ economic climate, where money usually flowed to the richest of the rich and the cruelest of the cruel, but these businesses were much more agreeable in their practices. 

Plus, she was absolutely freezing.

She felt Yang squeeze her tighter, her body almost emanating a glow of heat like a cozy firepit in a wooden lodge. Blake could almost fall asleep huddled into the blonde like this, nevermind the biting wind forcing its way into the hangar. 

“Do you want to borrow my jacket for now?” Yang asked, her voice smooth and gentle against the ears atop her head. 

Blake shook her head almost immediately, the blood rushing to her cheeks in an instant and causing a pink blush to spread: too warm. “I’m okay, thanks. I should be okay. Besides, you’ll get cold without a jacket!”

Yang smirked coyly and animatedly flexed her mechanical arm. “I could handle it!”

“Yes, but your arm might not,” Maria cut in; Blake had almost forgotten the older woman among them. She hobbled forward, tapping the side of her mechanical eye socket. “Atlas tech may not be so horrible, but the moment it gets too cold you’ll wish you’d installed a heat pad!”

Yang swallowed her breath. “So how do I…not freeze up?”

“I know a place!” Weiss cut in, stepping in front of Maria. “It’s in the same area as the other small shops.” From behind her, Maria gave a notable smirk.

“Well then I guess it’s settled!” Ruby proclaimed, and Blake couldn’t agree more.

The group began to move out of the building, away from the parked airship and towards the large door into the blank world before them, dusted with snow atop shimmering ice. Blake kept herself in Yang’s grip—she hadn’t fully let go of her quite yet—and allowed the warmth once more to fill her body, the distance between them growing smaller and smaller until they were almost completely curled together as if tucked under soft, heavy covers together.

 

*

 

The first shop Weiss led them to was definitely small, though Yang had grown to appreciate these less extravagant sights in the short time she’d been in Atlas already. Everything was so gawdy, so painfully white and shimmering, that seeing this miniscule lodge of dark wood and snowy windowsills was already a breath of fresh, chilly air.

“This is where I got my last coat,” Weiss noted, a discontent note in her voice. “I really liked that coat.”

“Well, we can get you a new one!” Ruby chimed in gleefully.

Yang stood back as the group began to pile into the shop, idly holding onto Blake. She turned away for a moment towards Maria, the older woman wandering away from them towards a slightly more aesthetically-fitting shop several doors down.

Blake pulled slightly on her arm, prompting her towards the door. Yang looked down at her with an anxious expression; she didn’t want to stop holding Blake, stop keeping her so close. She could hardly let her out of her sight, and yet…

“I should go with Maria,” she admitted almost shamefully, knowing full-well that her partner wouldn’t want to be separated either. Still, she defended her decision. “I can’t have my arm freezing up while we’re here. I should probably get that heat pad. But I’ll hurry back!”

Blake inhaled, but before she could retort, a sharp voice intruded on them. “You probably wouldn’t even know what to look for!”

Yang swiftly turned back towards Maria, who was standing several feet from them with a devilish grin creasing her cheeks. Her cheeks flushed with annoyance as she snapped: “Hey, I’ve done my fair share of maintenance! I know how machines work!”

Still, Maria kept her air of mischief. “Sure, sure, that bike of yours was in moderate condition, but this is advanced Atlas tech! You likely wouldn’t understand how to even take that arm apart properly!”

The blonde tried to fight back, but found the words stuck in her throat. She’d done some touch-ups, sure, but those were all surface-level and didn’t require a whole lot of understanding of the technology that made up her arm. Plus, Ironwood never really supplied her with a manual for any extra features.

Yang sighed, ceding to Maria’s argument. The older woman simply laughed and added: “Why don’t you two head in and get some warmer clothes. But I’ll hurry back!” With that, she turned on her heels, nearly slipped on the frost beneath her, and continued on her merry way towards the shop as if she hadn’t.

Once more, Yang felt Blake pull her towards the door, her tug slightly more desperate. She looked down at the girl in her arms, half-frozen and shivering as drops of snow drifted into her midnight hair; with each snowflake finding its place on her head, her ears twitched, and Yang almost had to smile at how adorably sensitive she was to the environment.

“Okay, we’re heading in now,” Yang said tenderly, leading her towards the door.

Once inside, Yang could feel the rush of warmth overtake her, and she sighed in relief; beside her, Blake did the same. She had no idea just how much she missed proper air heating in those few minutes outside, but goodness was she ever thankful for it. 

Blake continued to shiver beside her. Yang separated from her for a moment, letting her into the shop to peruse, but Blake instantly reattached herself to the blonde, shaking arms wrapped tightly around her abdomen.

“Geez, Blake,” Yang chuckled, though she leaned into the embrace. “I thought you wanted to get a jacket.”

“C-cold,” Blake mumbled, her lips barely moving. “Need…h-heat.”

Yang nodded and stood still, allowing for Blake to soak up her heat like she was the sun on a summer’s day. Her fingers curled into against dark locks, rubbing the top of her head, taking her ears between her fingers and warming them. Blake relaxed into her touch, and her shivering lips betrayed a content smile that brightened with each moment in Yang’s warmth.

Finally, Blake settled, her body no longer wracked with dramatic trembles, and she looked over to the rest of the group examining the stock, seeing Ruby playfully prancing around in a delicate and certainly uncharacteristic white coat; behind her, Weiss rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t hide the amusement on her features.

“Thanks, Yang,” Blake offered sincerely, which Yang answered by nuzzling her nose against the top of her head.

“Just wait till a get that pad installed, this thing’s gonna be hot!” Once more, she accentuated her excitement by stretching out her prosthetic arm, curling and uncurling her fingers, and then resting it against Blake’s arm. The dark-haired girl let out a slight yelp at the sudden cold touching her bare skin, and Yang pulled her arm back sheepishly. “Sorry,” she said with an embarassed grin.

Blake pulled out of Yang’s touch for a moment and began towards the rack full of jackets, her eyes clearly set on something. Yang quickly followed suit, but stopped in her tracks when something bright and burning caught her eye.

“Just a sec, Blake!” Yang called out. 

Her eyes settled on a wooden table displaying several rows of knit hats, each with different colours and patterns to choose from. Of course, from among them she immediately reached for the one that had called out to her in that moment; a loose orange beanie fading to yellow midway through.

“Score!” she murmured excitedly as she took the hat and placed it over her golden mane; an absolutely perfect fit.

Yang’s mouth widened as she turned inwards, searching for a mirror to see how it looked. She caught sight of Ren wrapping an obscenely long magenta scarf around his neck in front of a tall mirror, taking in his appearance for a moment, then nodding coolly to himself.

She placed herself behind the young man, peering over his shoulder to check herself out with a large grin spread across her lips. “What do you think, Ren?” she inquired.

Ren placed his hand thoughtfully on his chin through the scarf, humming to himself. Yang repositioned herself in an admittedly goofy pose, her expression exaggerated and her fingers pointing at him.

He nodded. “It suits you very well. Though, I’m surprised you didn’t go with something purple.”

Yang cocked her head. “Why’s that?”

“Well, I would think because of Blake.”

She felt her cheeks redden and her body stiffen, her gawdy smile cracking nervously. “Geez, Ren, what makes you think that?” 

The young man simply looked at her, his expression typically indiscernible—though that oversized scarf wasn’t helping her figure him out. His reply was a simple shrug as he walked past her, leaving Yang only slightly annoyed but absolutely concerned. 

Looking towards the coat racks, Yang found Blake’s ears poking out from atop the fixture, and she began heading towards her, stopping only to quickly look at herself again in the mirror, adjust her hat off her face slightly, and continue onwards.

Her thoughts raced; why was she so concerned? She’d felt strongly about Blake since their first year at Beacon, and she hadn’t made an effort to hide her feelings. She always wore her heart on her sleeve, always tried to let people know how she felt, always tried to show sincerity to those around her and be open. Of course people would start wondering about them, they hadn’t let go of each other since leaving Argus. So what was the big deal?

She turned around the fixture, her mind instantly clearing. Blake stood there, placing an empty hangar back on the rack—likely the one for the white coat she was trying on. It resembled slightly her previous coat, though with shorter tails and a thicker exterior, like wool. A gold-lined panel crossed over her chest, concealing her torso from the cold, and white fur lined the collar and sleeves, delicately brushing against her skin; beneath it, a long amethyst scarf wrapped neatly around her neck before losing itself under the white coat. Blake stretched out her arms, examining the sleeves of the coat and adjusting the buttons toward the hem, before a pleased smirk formed on her lips.

Yang couldn’t help but smile, too, at how beautiful she was. Her midnight hair, now free of white flecks, draped around her shoulders and down her back towards to golden buttons attaching a white belt just above her waist. The gold accents of the coat reflected in her eyes, a perfect match for her mysterious yet gentle gaze.

Blake must have seen Yang, as when she turned again she caught herself with a slight jump. Yang took an apprehensive step forward, still taking in the image. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

“It’s fine,” Blake said with a relieved sigh. She stood upright and proudly displayed herself to Yang, shuffling her shoulders slightly. “What do you think?”

Yang grinned and took a tuft of the collar’s fur into her left hand, soft against her fingertips. “You look great.”

Her partner’s cheeks flushed pink. “Thanks. I made sure to get synthetic.”

“Oh, excellent choice!” Yang said somewhat sarcastically, rubbing the fur between her fingers idly.

She rested her hand against Blake’s collar, her eyes trained on the fur of the jacket. She’d been close to Blake before, close enough to nuzzle her head and rest in the crook of her neck. By all accounts, this was nothing new. 

And yet, here in this warm shop, her fingers playing with her jacket, feeling Blake’s faint breathing against the side of her hand, she could feel herself being pulled. Her heart inside her chest beat stronger and stronger, calling out for some way to release the sentiment building inside of it. Blood rushed to under her skin, through to her cheeks and her lips, a hot blush overtaking her. 

She spared a quick look upwards towards Blake, seeing that the woman had become still in Yang’s touch, her eyes lidded and trained on the hand resting against her. Yang could barely resist the urge to squeeze her hand, her muscles so wrought with unused energy waiting for release, her heart aflutter with endearment. Her hand hovered so close to Blake’s neck, a place she’d often rested her head but now to her was so much more intimate. She could raise her hand to her jaw, stroke her thumb along it and allow Blake to melt into her touch the way she always did. She could hold her face there, taking in every aspect of her beauty for as long as she wanted like a photograph—no, like a work of art. 

Her thumb twitched at the thought, yet this smallest of motions was enough to send Yang plummeting from her euphoric trance. She sighed resignedly, letting her hand rest heavily on Blake. “Are we being…obvious?”

Blake, still somewhat in her own trance, frowned in questioning. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, like, us. You and me.” When Blake didn’t respond, she stepped away and leaned against the wall in slight agitation. “The hand-holding. The cuddling.”

“Where’s this coming from, Yang?” 

There was a pause from the blonde, who turned away from her partner, somewhat ashamed of how she was feeling. She wished that this wasn’t such a concern. “Ren seems to know we’ve got…well, something. And even Maria seemed to catch on.”

Blake offered a somewhat lopsided smile. “Well I wouldn’t say we’re being discreet.” Yang exhaled and let her head hang; just as she’d feared. Blake approached her, placing her hand on her shoulder and tracing a circle with her thumb. “But who ever said there’s anything wrong with that, Yang?” Then, her voice collapsed in on itself. “Is there something wrong with that?”

Yang shook her head. “I don’t know. There really shouldn’t be, and yet…” She turned to face Blake, her amber eyes now holding an almost sad concern, begging for some sort of truth, some sort of admission. “I just…I feel like I’m being too obvious.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, and her thumb stopped its circuit on her shoulder. The two remained there, still, eyes locked and searching for something to say to the other. Yang desperately needed Blake to say something—anything!—so that she didn’t have to keep spewing her stupid anxieties.

“Too obvious?” Blake repeated softly, closing the distance between her and her partner. “Yang, you’ve always shone brighter than anyone. You’ve always been at the center of everyone’s attention. I wouldn’t want you to give up that part of yourself. Besides, that’s what I love so much about you.”

Yang felt a smile forming in the corners of her mouth, but the feeling was fleeting as her own worries chased the sincerity away. “I guess I’m, well, nervous. You’re the only person I’ve ever felt this way about, and I don’t want to overdo it.” She pushed herself away from the wall and turned to her partner, once more overcome with such strong emotions by just looking at how beautiful and incredible she was.

Blake relinquished a smirk and lifted both of her hands to her shoulders, holding her in place. “Yang, I love it when you’re obvious. You’re not overdoing it, trust me.” Yang’s face remained equal parts worried, equal parts stubbornly unyielding. Blake rubbed her shoulders quickly before reaching for her neckline, her slight fingers pulling at the purple scarf around her neck, loosening it enough for her to remove it and drape it gently around Yang’s collar. “But if you’re worried about being obvious, then I guess I’ll just have to be too.” 

She set to work fitting the garment under Yang’s golden mane, tilting it back as if she were about to clip a necklace. Yang breathed softly as Blake patiently preened, adjusted, and set the scarf delicately against her, moving in and out to assure that no bare skin was left uncovered for the wind to bite at. 

Yang could only watch breathlessly as her partner worked, her face growing warmer and warmer with each light brush of her hair or touch of her skin. Her movements were so gentle yet focused that Yang feared even flinching beneath her touch should she interrupt her work. She remained still as Blake slid her fingers along the draping fabric resting just above her chest, pulling slightly to tighten it enough to keep it secure.

“There,” she stated, clearly proud of her work; her hands remained attached to the purple garment, unwilling to pull away from her partner. “Now people will know just how much you mean to me, too.”

Yang inhaled, letting the familiar scent of the scarf fill her head and make her light with bliss. She leaned forward, allowing her body to press against Blake’s hands still holding dearly onto her. A softness filled her mind as she raised her hands to take Blake’s in, holding on gently to the girl who now looked at her with such tender care and affection that her heart seemed to dampen completely.

She wanted to say something, to thank her for this, to repay her for her sincerity, to convey the exact same love, and yet she was so struck that her voice caught in her throat, her usual feistiness dulled by serenity. She could hardly form a smile, her muscles so loose she could only afford to press her lips into a flat smirk, and yet that was apparently all Blake needed to lift her mechanical hand to her face and nuzzle it, her eyes closed gently, before she placed the most delicate of kisses against her thumb.

If they’d had even a slightly longer moment, Yang swore she would have immediately pulled Blake into an embrace, overwhelmed with such affection for the girl. But, much to both of their dismay, there came a low hum from behind them. Blake peered over Yang’s shoulder, and Yang turned slightly to see Ren several feet away, picking out a burgundy bobble hat from the table. Though he seemed to be busying himself with his task, she could just make out the coy grin playing across his lips.

As if prompted by their stares, Ren stood back from the table, examined the hat, and nodded before turning to them. “The purple does suit you.”

Yang could hardly bring herself to be annoyed, not when he was right about that. She offered him a tender smile and turned back and looked down at the scarf now resting against her jacket. “It really does,” she said softly, once more taking Blake’s hand in her own.


End file.
